At home I never understood why my thoughts always wavered from those of my family members. To paint a picture, my family has always been practicing Catholics, dedicated Republicans, and obvious conservatives. My family is well-off, completely content with their livelihood, and unaware of controversial worldly concerns. Because my parents have always accepted these views, they passed them down to their children so we do not have to worry about forming opinions in a hostile world. I am number five of seven children; I am the youngest of four girls; all three of my sisters have blonde hair and blue eyes, whereas I have brown hair and brown eyes. Although our differing phenotypes are not the reason why I have different opinions, it simply emphasizes our dissimilarity. I never truly realized the sheltered environment of my upbringing until I went to college and lived on my own. Living on my own, three hours away from anyone who knew me, I became open to a new scope of issues that I was resolute to form my own opinion on. My first stance: nuclear war.
During Christmas break I went home and shared some of my new views with my family. My older brother George, who has also formed his own opinions against my family’s by leaving the Catholic church and leaning towards a liberal side, intently listened to and discussed my concerns. My mother and father were completely turned off and taken aback; did they not send me to a good Jesuit university? What did they do wrong in my upbringing? As I continued my harangue on a need for change and warning against a corrupt government, they sat silently, not knowing what to say. I confided in my older sister, Joy, searching for answers to why my parents seemed uncaring about issues I felt so deeply about. However, she was probably not the best person to go to considering the fact that her fiancé is a nuclear weapons engineer who my parents love, partly because he is smart and well paid. This single example of my family is not unlike the rest of other Americans who are concerned with their own busy lives and unaware of worldly issues, like the threat of nuclear war.
What use does the world have with 26,000 nuclear weapons if almost all countries agreed not to use them? Why would a leader want to detonate a weapon that can kill hundreds of millions of people in a few hours and bring about the end of human civilization? History shows that the continual race for weapons of mass destruction is extremely unsettle and unpredictable. The effects of a single nuclear device are detrimental to all humankind. Americans today are ignorant to these facts because they lollygag through their trifling lives surrounded by different means of entertainment. Just because the threat of nuclear weapons is not as widely talked about in recent years, does not mean that people should stop concerning themselves with this issue. Personal events through recent months have brought these American ignorances to my attention. Although it is not often talked about, the threat of nuclear war is constantly viable and Americans should be more aware.
Now, I could research and write a 30 page paper on the history of nuclear weapons and its harmful effects (one day I definitely will), but as I sit in my house for the 3rd day in a row continually looking at my new "W" tattoo, eating organic chips, listening to Jimmy Cliff, and wearing a beater, that seems too ambitious. Instead let me give you an example of the ignorance and fashion-forwardness of America... Every day it is guaranteed you will see someone wearing a peace sign, whether it be a shirt, shoes, hat, jacket, earrings (guilty), bracelett (guilty), ring, pants, skirt, you name it, you'll see it. This is all fine and good, I am certainly for peace, but do these people know what bold statement they are making?
The forked peace symbol was designed in the late 1950’s as a sign for nuclear disarmament. The symbol itself is a combination of the naval semaphore flag signals for the letters "N" and "D," standing for Nuclear Disarmament. In semaphore the letter "N" is formed by a person holding two flags in an upside-down "V," and the letter "D" is formed by holding one flag pointed straight up and the other pointed straight down. These two signals imposed over each other form the shape of the peace symbol. Take a look!!
Because the world is ignorant to the possibility of international peace there were many improprieties into the meaning of the symbol saying that it resembles a bird foot in a cage, implying that Americans and peace activists are coward chickens. Other falsities include the belief that it represents an upside down crucifix with the arms broken, suggesting the way that St. Peter was martyred or as an antichrist symbol of Jesus on the broken cross of Christianity. Others have claimed that the symbol resembles a medieval sign known as "Nero's Cross" that represents Satanism. Designer Gerald Holtom’s explanation of the symbol does not support those interpretations. He felt that peace was something to be celebrated and achieved, not distorted and neglected. Unlike these nonbelievers’ ideas, nuclear weapons extinction and peace is possible.So call me a hippie as my little brothers do, call me a dreamer...I'm not the only one. Let's continue spreading the peace symbol, but let's just know what it means. As a famous fbook bumper sticker once said, "Peace is not a fashion statement, it's a state of mind."
The world's a disco ball,
Christie
It's about time you posted, Christie.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that about the peace sign -- so interesting!